Pakistan held talks in its capital city of Islamabad on Sunday to “de-escalate” the Iran war, but none of the actual participants in the war attended the meeting. Instead, the talks were held between the foreign ministers of Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistani officials on Wednesday said they delivered a 15-point ceasefire proposal from the United States to Iran. An unnamed senior Iranian official told Reuters the proposal has been received, and either Pakistan or Turkey could host further ceasefire negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed on Sunday that his government would “welcome any regional initiative that leads to a just end” to the war – even as Iran continued launching wanton attacks against every other country in the region.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that Iran wants to end the conflict but that he is refusing to make a deal because “the terms aren’t good enough yet,” while signaling the United States could strike Kharg Island again and questioning whether the regime’s newly installed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is even alive.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Thursday that Thai forces are holding disputed territory by force, and even occupying Cambodian land beyond the disputed area, putting intense strain on the ceasefire agreement brokered by President Donald Trump.
No attacks on infrastructure overnight, Zelensky said, after Trump made a request to Putin to hold back missiles as severe weather arrives.
Putin was playing a game by inviting his counterpart to Moscow, Zelensky said, making an equally facetious reciprocal invitation to Kyiv.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Monday morning that “there are officially no more hostages in captivity in Gaza.”
An unnamed U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday that “about 200 low-level Islamic State fighters” escaped from the al-Shaddadi prison camp on Monday after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from the facility.
President Donald Trump spoke by telephone with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Monday to discuss the conflict between Sharaa’s forces and the Kurds of northeastern Syria, who have complained of abuses by government troops and blamed them for releasing around 120 Islamic State terrorists from a Kurdish-run prison in Hasakah province.
President Donald Trump replied that his New Year’s resolution is “peace on Earth” when asked as he entered a New Year’s Eve party.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al Arabiya News on Monday that “we trust Trump” to deliver peace in Gaza and stabilize the Middle East.
China’s state-run Global Times on Sunday sought to give Beijing credit for the ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand negotiated by President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump said the United Nations should become more involved in creating world peace amid the clash between Thailand and Cambodia.
Fighting broke out in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday between Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and security troops loyal to President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday announced the elimination of Ra’ad Sa’ad, a Hamas official who planned the October 7 attack.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to “cease all shooting,” following a tense week of escalating clashes that threatened to destroy the ceasefire agreement he negotiated between the two countries in July.
In an interview with Al Jazeera News on Wednesday, Hamas Abroad leader Khaled Mashaal claimed that “fifty-one percent of American youth are supportive not only of the Palestinian cause, but of Hamas.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday in Turkmenistan to discuss the war in Ukraine. Their meeting was unexpectedly interrupted by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who demanded an audience with Putin to secure his support against India and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia escalated on Tuesday, spreading to more locations along the disputed border.
The Kremlin says talks between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff were “constructive.”
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow for ceasefire talks.
The Maronite Christian bishops of Lebanon issued a joint statement last week denouncing Israel’s “daily attacks on the South and other regions of Lebanon, which are bringing the country to the brink of war once again.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed Sunday that there are still two “pockets” of Hamas terrorists inside the area to which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew under the ceasefire deal.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, said on Wednesday that Hamas violated the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal when it attacked a group of Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, killing one of them.
Israel and Hamas both said that the ceasefire in Gaza will resume, despite an exchange of attacks that began on Tuesday when Hamas terrorists fired on Israeli soldiers, killing one, and staged a fake return of remains.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered airstrikes on Hamas positions in Gaza on Tuesday night after the terror organization staged a fake transfer of the body of one of the deceased hostages Monday.
Hamas staged a fake recovery of a hostage’s body in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli soldiers who observed the event; and also returned a coffin to Israel Monday that contained more remains of a previously recovered hostage.
Arab and Muslim nations that are expected to contribute to a peacekeeping force in Gaza are reportedly afraid to face Hamas, due to the group’s ferocity and the perception of appearing to be occupiers.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday and told reporters that he was confident Hamas was committed to its ceasefire with Israel in Gaza — but that it would be “obliterated” if it failed to disarm.
The Qatari regime has blamed Israel and the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for ceasefire violations in Gaza, rather than the Hamas terrorists who killed Israeli soldiers on Sunday.
The ceasefire in Gaza is holding, despite the fact that Hamas is violating it by executing rivals in public, delaying the transfer of the bodies of Israeli hostages, and even attacking Israeli soldiers on patrol.
The Department of State issued a warning there were “credible reports” Hamas was planning an attack on the people of Gaza, which would violate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad both refused to commit to disarming this week — brazenly defying the peace plan President Donald Trump brokered and both terror groups accepted— with a senior Hamas official telling Reuters he could not say “yes or no” to surrendering weapons.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said on Monday that he wants negotiations with Israel, mediated by President Donald Trump.
Former President Bill Clinton (D) said in a post to X on Monday that President Donald Trump and his administration “deserve great credit” for negotiating the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
Former President Joe Biden praised President Donald Trump and his administration “for their work” in securing and getting a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas “over the finish line.”
For two years, Hollywood had been demonstrating, protesting, picketing, and pontificating for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Well, on Monday, that ceasefire was achieved with the miraculous return of the 20 remaining living hostages held by Hamas. And yet, the silence from Hollywood has been deafening.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s response to the Gaza ceasefire deal on Thursday was tepid and sour, expressing doubt that anything less than the creation of a Palestinian state would bring peace.
U.S. officials said on Thursday that America will send roughly 200 troops to Israel to support and monitor the Gaza ceasefire deal.
